Cider and rosy.
Came home from work this evening and bottled "April Fool", the cider I started on the 1st of April.
Needless to say, a quick sampling was in order and, to paraphrase Richard Hammond, it'll put hairs on your eyeballs. A bit like cider to start with, followed by a serious alcohol aftershock. It's quite drinkable, but clearly extremely alcoholic. A 1/4 of a pint, and I'm feeling distinctly rosy cheeked!
I'm not sure I'd recommend trying it but, for reference, it went something like this:
- 4 litres of cheap pure apple juice.
- 4 bramley apples, cored and blitzed in the blender.
- 1/2 lb sugar.
- 200g pure natural honey.
- 1 tsp Youngs wine yeast.
- 1 tsp Youngs yeast nutrient.
DO NOT add all the ingredients to the demijohn at once. Any more than a couple of litres of apple juice initially, and it'll be climbing out through the airlock. Add 2l initially, then top up with a little juice at a time as fermentation calms down. Once all 4 litres of juice have been added, after a week or so, strain the must through muslin or similar to remove the pulp, leave until fermentation stops, then bottle with 1/2 tsp sugar per litre added to the bottles to carbonate (hopefully!).
I think I'll probably start another load, but with a simpler, straight juice mix and champagne yeast. This one's OK, but a bit hardcore for regular drinking (though hopefully it'll improve with age, carbonation and a good chilling before drinking). I'm also slightly concerned that the fermentation after bottling may be a bit vigorous. I've hidden the bottles away in a cupboard to be on the safe side in case they explode. I'm slightly perturbed by the fact that the concave depression in the cap from bottling has turned convex on the test bottle I capped a few days ago!
April 21, 2010
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Tags: cider В· Posted in: Home Brewing
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